Paris, London & 11 years

Kevin and I just celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary in Europe. I am so in love with him and grateful for every day we have had in our marriage. This trip was such a romantic get away where we were able to spend every minute of the day together enjoying each other and all of the beauty that Paris and London have to offer. Happy Anniversary! Our first night after hours of traveling by planes, trains, metro, and foot we decided to pay a visit to the Eiffel Tower. The colors of the sky that night were so magical.

Here is a picture of Montmartre in Paris. There were a lot of local artists here and fun little shops. That night we ate at Chez la Mere Catherine where I had the most amazing orange glazed duck and gained more appreciation for french cuisine. Here is a view of the Louvre. This place inspires me.

That afternoon we sat in the gardens outside of the Louvre and just enjoyed being in Paris.

Notre Dame.

The river Seine.
I am a big Marie Antoinette fan especially after reading a biography about her. The last time I was in Paris with my mom we weren't able to go to the Chateau de Versailles so this was one of my priorities this trip. I think there is nothing that compares to this palace and the gardens. This was truly a highlight for us. Not only were we able to tour the main palace but we spent the afternoon roaming the gardens.

The Hall of Mirrors.

Petite Trianon. Marie Antoinette's small palace.

The gardens cover so many acres that we rented bikes to go exploring.

We were there on a special day when they turned all of the fountains in the gardens on for a few hours. They were so beautiful.

Our last day in Paris we rode up to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

St. Paul's cathedral in London. We had to do the double decker bus tour our first day. So fun.

Tower Bridge.

Hyde park. We were there the perfect time of year when the flowers and roses were all in bloom.

This scene makes me want to paint.

The Tower of London. It took a lot for me to convince both Kevin and the Beefeater to take this picture together for me. We had a wonderful tour with a very entertaining Beefeater.

Big Ben.After riding on the eye of London we took this picture with the Houses of Parliament in the background.

Our last day in London. My handsome honey.

Thanks so much for all of those that helped with our little Ethan while we were gone, especially his nannas! It meant so much to us.

San Diego Fun

A few weeks ago we were able to spend the weekend as a family down in San Diego. We had a lot of fun swimming, going to La Jolla Cove for beach time, and just hanging out. Here are some pics from the weekend.

Our hotel was on a golf course where we found this pond and 8 baby duckies.

Peek-A-Boo

Happy Mother's Day

Happy mother's day to all mommies. I love my mom and mother in law so much! Thanks for all you do. I'm so grateful for my little Ethan and the opportunity to be his mommy.

2nd Birthday

Happy Birthday sweet boy! I can't even believe we are celebrating birthday #2. Where have the past 2 years gone? I know all parents say that and it may sound cliche but my baby is growing way too fast! We had so much fun planning and celebrating Ethan's special day with family and friends. Here is my boy getting ready to party it up before everyone arrives. These are the gift boxes the kids received at the start of the party and were filled with stuff for the kids to dress up like Handy Manny or Kelly.

The Nocella kids dressing up in their gear with Ethan looking
on.

Kevin and Shane manning the grill and cooking the carne asada. Mariane made her special carne asada with the sides and grandma and grandpa made their special mini pizzas. Thanks for all the help and yummies.

The sun was out and we placed the food tables outside. Here is the kid's table.

After lunch Handy Manny came to play parachute, tug of war, magic tricks, and made balloon animals with the kids. Here is the birthday boy in the middle.

Daddy and Ethan.

Here is a group picture of the kids. We had about 25 kids between about 2-5 years of age. This may sound like craziness but we had a blast and the kids were wonderful.

Blowing out the birthday candles with a little help from friends.

Handy Manny and Ethan.

The 3 of us after the party. Little cousin Emily looks on in the background.